Disney unmistakably echoes Hamlet (with some Henry IV and Biblical references on the side) in THE LION KING, a film for children that still adroitly tackles the mature themes of grief and revenge. After his father, the great lion Mufasa is murdered by his devilish uncle Scar, the cub Simba narrowly escapes his own demise, hiding out and learning to survive while Scar ascends to the throne. When it was released, THE LION KING became the highest-grossing animated feature of all time—that has since been spun-off, remade, and adapted into a hit Broadway show—underscoring the universality of the expectations a father leaves for a son.